


Sugar, Honey, Sweet

by iridescent_blue



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: M/M, bc like not coming out can also just b about privacy n not fearing homophobes, brief introspection into why no one owes anyone coming out, i kno two words in russian so ignore my lack of knowledge there, literally just fluff and that is good, neil and andrew are Dipshits In Love, neil and andrew banter and vaguely shit on kevin for a sec, neil and andrew go pro, outsider pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:00:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25890967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iridescent_blue/pseuds/iridescent_blue
Summary: When Minyard joins the Seattle Seahawks, Nadia braces for carnage.She gets anything but.
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 46
Kudos: 565





	Sugar, Honey, Sweet

**Author's Note:**

> hihi its been a while since i posted hmm?? well im writing a Big Long Fic for the fall exchange sowwy about that also irl stuff is kinda crazy.. getting top surgery on Monday!
> 
> aight enjoy this, it's late, im tired n need some Sleep, this is just fluff and happiness n jokey vibes to make up for the Dark Shit i posted last :) a cleanse, if u will
> 
> title from glass animals' Tangerine because i Cannot Stop Listening to Dreamland rn go stream it issa vibe n i didn't know what to title this fic ahaha
> 
> EDIT as of 11:30 PM EST 8/14/2020: a lovely user informed me that Alexei is typically a masculine name, and while I'm all for breaking down gender norms i ALSO do not know russian cultural norms so i swapped her name out to be Nadia! so if you're wondering what happened to our gal alexei, she's changed to nadia (that's the only change i made. i knew something would be off bc i know nothing about Russian culture and fucking APPARENTLY google lied to me when i checked to see if alexei was a feminine or masculine name. cant trust anything google says about Russian smh :/ its such a cool language too)

When Minyard joins the team, Nadia predicts a stressful, chaotic season. Even though in the past few years, Minyard has calmed down a lot, no longer a “monster,” his past follows him. Nadia watched the court hearings because everyone did. She saw the fire the Foxes came into the court with, the clinical detachment Minyard showed when recounting the absolute horrors of his youth. That doesn’t just wash off in the shower after a long day. 

So when Minyard joins the Seattle Seahawks, she’s expecting carnage. 

She gets anything but. 

Minyard is one of the lowest-maintenance players she’s ever been on a team with. He shows up to the gym and practices, participates, and leaves. Any attempts at socializing are quickly shut down with one arched eyebrow. 

But he doesn’t complain, he doesn’t bitch and moan about long drives to games or how his muscles hurt after them, doesn’t get angry at hotel staff when there’s an issue with their reservation. For someone described as “angry and stabby” by his former teammates, Minyard seems to have the patience of a saint. Or he’s got absolutely incredible self-control. Nadia is putting her money on the latter. 

When Minyard (Andrew, now, he lets her call him Andrew because, according to him, she nags the least on the team) comes out as gay, Nadia gets it. There’s so much casual homophobia thrown around in the locker rooms, and fighting it all the time is exhausting.

Andrew comes out to the team a week before he goes public, casually reminds them of the knives he keeps in his bag (in impeccable condition, Nadia notes. More for comfort and familiarity than safety), and that’s that. No one asks why, and Nadia notes that the casual homophobic comments sharply drop off. No one asks Andrew about a potential boyfriend because they know Andrew well enough to understand he won’t give them an answer, but Nadia can’t help but wonder. 

The team goes public with Andrew’s statement, and instead of discussions on whether or not there is room for gay players in Exy (like there were when Knox, Moreau, Alvarez, and Dermott came out), the focus is shifted onto why  _ Andrew Minyard, the notoriously private keeper, has opened up about his personal life. _

The press is so obsessed with Andrew coming out that when Neil Josten signs with Seattle, signs on to Nadia’s team, they have their hands full. Every time Josten has transferred, he’s brought controversy across the country, questioning his playing style, his inability to truly mesh with the teams he’s played with, his utter inability to  _ close his fucking mouth. _

Nadia believes the rumors of Josten being a nightmare, of course. Are they really rumors if they’re confirmed by video footage and testimony from practically all of his past teammates?

So Nadia is, once again, bracing for the worst. Especially with someone like Andrew on the team. Yeah, they played together in college and seemed to get along pretty well, but it’s been  _ six years _ since then. A lot can change in that time. Josten will probably run his mouth a bit too far and end up with one of Andrew’s knives in his gut. It hasn’t happened yet, but there have been a few times that Nadia’s seen Andrew’s eyes flare with something murderous. Josten’s mouth is likely going to be the thing that breaks his self-control. 

So Josten moves to Seattle, assures everyone on the team that he’s got a place to live despite never mentioning apartment hunting, and he promptly tears the team a new one at his first practice, breaking their style down and pointing out every single flaw he can find. The worst part is, Nadia can’t get mad at him because he’s  _ right. _ About all of it. Their defense has gotten a little lax with Andrew in the goal for half the game, their dealers are good, but regular training to hone their accuracy could make them  _ great, _ and their striker lineup is downright  _ sluggish _ in comparison to Josten’s quick footwork. 

After his initial tirade, Josten leans back on his heels. “But those are all things that can be improved upon. You guys are good, but we could be the best in the league if we stepped our game up.” The locker room is filled with stunned silence until Andrew starts to slow clap, gloves tucked under his arm. 

“A glowing review,” he says drily. 

Neil snorts. “Kevin would specifically target you. Don’t complain.” He reaches a hand out and grabs Andrew’s wrist to keep him from clapping again and  _ oh shit, _ they just got a new striker and now he’s about to lose a hand. 

Andrew just bats his hand away without even blinking. “If Kevin started with that shit I would slap him.”

Josten grins. “Good thing Kev isn’t here.”

Andrew sighs. “Wow, Neil,” he says, “it’s almost as if I transferred to Seattle to get away from his nagging.” This is the most Nadia’s ever really seen him speak of his own volition. She has to stifle a laugh because even though she’s been playing with Andrew for a  _ year, _ she had no idea that he’s this funny. 

Or maybe it’s the fact that he bickers with Josten like they’re an old married couple. 

Josten shrugs, turns back to the team, and puts on his gloves. “So, we practicing or what?”

Nadia decides, in that moment, that Neil Josten is a menace. And that’s entirely okay. 

It’s only during their first game that Nadia realizes that Josten isn’t a menace, he’s a fucking  _ nightmare _ on the court. In terms of Exy skill, he’s up with Kevin Day and Andrew (but he’s gone to the Olympics once and is almost certainly going again), but his fucking  _ mouth. _ He won’t shut  _ up, _ taunting his opponents who are nearly double his size in a multitude of languages, all while communicating with the team and breaking past the backliners again and again. He’s rapidly switching between German, French, and what sounds like Mandarin, but Nadia can’t be sure. 

From where she is on her own backline, Nadia can’t hear exactly what Josten is saying, but she knows his cruel, mocking tone anywhere. He scores, and as he’s jogging back down the court to reset, he yells out to the opposing team in Russian.

“Ha! Suck my dick!” He crows. Probably not expecting Nadia to know Russian. She’s never brought up the fact that it’s her first language, because most people she knows don’t speak it. But apparently Josten does. He’s probably counting on that fact to not be understood.

Andrew huffs from behind her, in the goal. In Russian, he mutters, “That’s my job,” and  _ oh, _ Nadia gets it. All of Josten’s comments about not needing to hunt for apartments, his jabs at Andrew that are met with equal amounts of pettiness where anyone else would end up with a stab wound, the way that they effortlessly move around each other. They sit together on flights and Andrew allows Josten to touch him more than the rest of the team combined. 

Nadia’s head whips around at Andrew’s surprisingly good pronunciation. He salutes her, two fingers to his temple. “Talk later?” She asks.

“Sure.” He returns his grip to his racquet and shifts back into play mode as Nina, their offensive dealer, gets ready to serve. 

The thing is, Nadia has no fucking  _ time _ to be shocked about Josten and Andrew’s apparent relationship because while the Seahawks are good, the Cyclones are more than a fair match for them. Fortunately, having Andrew on the court is a blessing, since he’s so attuned to every backliner’s style that they barely need to think about catching whatever he bats their way and he’s got this fucking  _ mind-meld _ with Josten which allows them to break past the Cyclones’ defense. 

The mind-meld makes more sense, now that Nadia thinks about it. Playing together in college wouldn’t give them that innate ability to read each other, especially after a few years apart. Being in constant proximity to each other, assuming they got together some time in college, is what leads to that innate knowledge of how the other is going to move.

They win, because ever since Josten joined the team, Andrew’s been locking down the goal like a madman, even during practice. Nadia has to admit, their strikers have improved significantly, now that they actually have to think on the fly and work for their points. 

Nadia is thankfully off press duty for the night and Josten and Minyard are effectively banned (for volatile insults and stony silence, respectively), so she finds them hanging out in the lounge when she comes out of the locker room. They’re sitting close together on a couch, not touching, but closer than Andrew allows anyone to sit without glaring at them. Josten is rambling about plays and stats with Nina, coming up with ideas for plays inspired by the difficulties they had in breaking through the defense during the game. Nadia sits on the arm of the couch, just out of Andrew’s glare radius. 

“So, you and Josten?” She says in Russian, which gets Josten’s attention for a second before he registers what she’s saying and shrugs, turning back to his conversation. 

“Unfortunately.” Andrew sighs. “I cannot seem to get rid of him.” He uncrosses his arms and Nadia can finally see what he wears on a chain under his shirt. It’s a ring. Josten, now gesticulating wildly, has a similar chain around his neck.

Nadia shrugs. “So it seems. Anyone else know?”

“Only the Foxes.” Andrew doesn’t seem angry about the fact that no one knows, doesn’t seem fearful. He’s a private guy, his business is his own. It’s less of a matter of being public with his relationship with a man and more about being public with a relationship at all. Nadia gets it. The press is ravenous. 

“You seem good for each other,” Nadia says. It’s weird, talking to someone about their relationship when their spouse is literally next to them. But it’s true. They are good for each other. Andrew reins Josten in, and Josten seems to give Andrew more motivation. 

“We are.” Andrew spares the briefest of looks at his husband, assessing him and coming back with a positive review. Nadia’s never heard Andrew say another person is good for him, has hardly heard him talk about anything he likes outside sweet things and sci-fi. So Josten must be really,  _ really _ good for him. 

Two years later, on the same couch, Nadia watches Andrew pull Neil in for a kiss, moments after they secure an Olympic gold. The team’s known since Neil took a particularly brutal body-check and Andrew was the only one allowed into his hospital room. Nadia whips out her phone and sends a text off to Andrew. 

_ Proud of u _

And she is. She really, really is. 

**Author's Note:**

> wowee that one was nice i started writing it like a month ago and was like hmm i should tie this one up bc i like it
> 
> got some other fluffy stuff in the works but expect Nothing for a hot minute because i predict i will be a Bit Fucking Out Of It after surgery. should go well tho im happy :)
> 
> n e ways if u liked this then drop a kudo? a comment, perhaps? have a nice night/morning/day love ya bye


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